Medinah No. 3 to close, renovate 11 greens

Plans are in the works to redo 11 greens at Medinah No. 3. The work will be done by Rees Jones, who also directed the renovation of Cog Hill No. 4.

The proposal still needs to be approved by Medinah's members in a vote that will take place in June. While there will be some grumbling about the expense and the need to shut down the course, it is expected to pass.

The course then would close in mid-August and re-open the following June.

Mr. Jones actually did a previous renovation of No. 3 in 2003. At the time, seven of the 18 greens were completely reconstructed. The other remaining greens were just re-grassed.

As a result, Medinah now has two types of greens. The new greens are sand-based, meeting specifications set by the United States Golf Assn. The other greens are soil-based and don't meet USGA specs.

The goal is to make the greens consistent and improve drainage to keep them all firm and fast. The work would be done on greens 3 through 12, and 14.

The project is timed for this point so everything will be in place long before the club hosts the 2012 Ryder Cup.

All told, the expense to redo the greens and other projects related to the course is expected to be in excess of $1.5 million. At a time when most clubs are cutting back and losing members, Medinah is bucking the trend here by spending more money to improve No. 3.